One of the most popular Android features and undoubtedly the main reason for its dominance in the smartphone market is the limitless customization of the operating system (OS). Personalization options abound, both at the default OS level and by installing one of hundreds of launchers (just under 300 in the Google Play store, as I wrote).
You can find launchers that will make your phone mimic other devices such as iOS (iPhone) smartphones, or help integrate your phone into the ecosystem of your home or office, or even make your Android device behave like another Android device. For example, there are several launchers designed to give your smartphone the look of the popular (but expensive) Google Pixel.
All Android smartphones come with their own or standard launcher, which is usually a collaborative effort between the phone manufacturer and the cellular service provider. As you probably know from the settings menu, the default Android launcher has many customization options of its own – so many that the sheer number of options can be overwhelming.
Unless for any other reason other than simplicity, it is often preferable to let the launcher do most of the changes for you, rather than trying to customize the phone yourself.
What follows is a list of the 10 “best” Android launchers available. Again, there are over 275 in the Google Play Store. Some of them are free; some cost a few dollars; everything is easy to download and install, and just as easy to either deselect and then return to the previous launcher, or uninstall completely.
However, to select the top ten launchers, I did not download, install, or rate all of them. Instead, I narrowed it down to the top 20 by picking the ones with the highest user ratings and the most downloads, then installed and rated the results.
Note. The following list of the top 10 Android launchers is based on a combination of user popularity, product circulation, and my experience with each app. Please also note that the statistics accompanying each launcher are solely Google Play Store data and therefore do not reflect all available information from all the different download points; in addition, install numbers reflect the current version of the application, not its entire history.
Action Launcher 3
User Rating: 4.2 Installs: 93,230 Price: Free with $ 3.99 Adaptive Pack
Easy , fast and responsive are three words that accurately describe Action Launcher. It was a long time ago and had several updates, including v38 late last year.
This launcher comes with many attractive themes and several custom widgets, including weather, date and calendar appointments. You can create and color folders, even circular ones, as you like, and the smart icon sizing feature automatically resizes the icons to fit your layouts.
The Quicks in Action Launcher (Quicktheme, Quickbar, and Quickedit), not available in most launcher apps, provide many, well, quickly customizable features. Quicktheme, for example, coordinates your home screen color with wallpaper colors, while Quickbar lets you pin shortcuts and apps to the Google search bar for quicker access.
Quickedit presents alternative suggestions based on the selected application, without having to drill down into multiple application packages.
Finally, the Shutters feature allows you to place shortcuts for widgets. Moving the shutter opens a widget (like your Facebook feed) allowing you to view feeds, your inbox, and more without opening the app.
There is a lot more, but I need to talk about nine other launchers.
Big Launcher
User Rating: 4.3 Installs: 10,000+ Price: Free Demo with $ 10.99 Update
My first impression when I saw the name of this app was that it was great in the sense that it was loaded with features and settings. But that couldn’t be further from Big Launcher’s main goal.
Instead, it is intended for seniors, children, and anyone else who might have trouble navigating and using the home screen and standard sized icons. Oh, it’s big , but that means big, easy-to-view and touch-sensitive icons, menu shortcuts, page content, and more.
As you can see from the statistics above, it, unlike some of the other apps mentioned here, has not been downloaded and installed hundreds of thousands of times. Undoubtedly, this is partly due to its rather high $ 11 price tag. There is also a Big Launcher Easy demo or a free version that has been downloaded several thousand times but has the following strict restrictions:
- You can only customize the right column of buttons
- Only 5 allowed additional screens.
- Only the last 5 items in the call log are visible.
- Only the 5 most recent threads are visible.
- Only You can write and send 20 SMS.
- Password protection of configuration and settings is not possible.
In addition to everything – icons, fonts, text, apps, and more – you also get an SOS button, which makes it easier to call for help and find locations that can save lives. It is also available in many different languages.
If your older smartphone user (child or disabled) is having trouble navigating and using the phone, Big Launcher is a relatively inexpensive way to calm both you and your loved one.
Buzz Launcher
User rating: 4.4 Installs: 254 577 Price: free
Buzz Launcher differs from most other launchers in that it doesn’t just customize your smartphone manually, but chooses one of the many (over 700,000 at http://www.HomePackBuzz.com and over 1,000,000 on the Internet in general). -Specific main screens and related functions.
And if you create a Buzz Launcher theme or wallpaper (or both) that you are proud of, you can download it and share it in the Buzz community via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
All of this does not mean that Buzz Launcher has no customization options. You can, for example, create multiple transition effects, edit icons, wallpapers and home screens, but the real strength of this launcher is the speed and ease with which you can deploy ready-made home packs with all the new colors, themes and home screens. etc.
On the other hand, if you are more into creating and customizing Android’s own launchers and related interfaces, you will probably have better luck with one of the other nine launchers on this list.
Evie Launcher
User rating: 4.4 Installs: 254 577 Price: free
Evie Launcher differs from this pack in that while it offers a sophisticated set of customization features, it doesn’t try to be everything to everyone and therefore doesn’t overwhelm you with options. Evie starts with a simple and easy setup, which creates a home screen with just four icons and the icon dock disconnects, leaving you with a blank canvas to work with.
Lightweight and fast, some of Evie’s features include an adjustable grid, universal search, quick navigation, and customizable shortcuts.
- Adjustable grid: The standard grid size on Android phones has been 4 × 4 for quite some time. sometime. Evie Launcher’s default 5×6 desktop accepts grid sizes from 3×4 to 12×12. Modern smartphones come with taller and larger screens, and the ability to adjust layout sizes helps you use that extra space.
- Universal Search: Search for anything, anywhere, no matter where you are on your phone or what application.
- Quick Navigation: Swipe up to display a complete list of your apps without having to go back to the app drawer or dock.
- Custom shortcuts: make any task a shortcut with your own icon. Do you often write to your loved one or family member? Turn a task into a shortcut.
In addition to swiping up to reveal the app drawer, you can swipe down from the top inside the app drawer to return to the desktop or home screen, and there is also a double-tap lock gesture for easy screen lock.
But mostly, compared to others discussed here, it is an easy and fast launcher. Evie has gone through a lot of updates lately, and as a result, she’s become more attractive overall.
Launcher iOS 12
User rating: 4.8 Installs: 135 096 Price: free
LuuTinh makes a couple of iOS skins for Android, Launcher iOS 12 and Control iOS 12. Both are, in a way, your typical poor man’s iPhone. Either one makes your phone look like an iPhone and acts like an iPhone to some extent. The publisher informs about it:
“ Launcher iOS 12 sets a new standard for the Android mobile operating system. It makes your phone better than before. And now it opens up amazing possibilities for launcher on your phone. Launcher iOS 12 makes your phone the most powerful, personal and smartest device it has ever been. “
This is a daunting task and the speculations are mind-boggling. This launcher simply makes your Android device mimic iOS 12 where possible. The settings menu is organized into a control center similar to iOS, and some gestures and other features work just like the Apple Assistive Touch. It comes with a default iOS theme and, like iOS, allows various customizations.
You get icons with rounded corners, animations instead of transitions, and so on. However, financial considerations aside, I’m not sure why buy an Android device and then install the software to make it work like an Apple device; it’s like putting the Harley logo on a Honda. But listen, users love this and it’s free. What more could you ask for?
Microsoft Launcher
User rating: 4.6 Installs: 789 785 Price: free
If you want a launcher to help your phone run like Windows 10 or Windows Phone, there are other launchers like Win 10 Launcher that are more suitable for this. Instead, Windows Launcher helps integrate your Android phone into the Windows ecosystem.
It works with your Microsoft account and Microsoft apps like Office 365, OneDrive, Skype, and more to help keep all your gadgets and apps in sync and work together. We’ve written a full Microsoft Launcher review here.
The capabilities of this launcher are extensive; Here are a few of the most important ones:
- It’s all about people: pin your favorites to your home screen, dock, icon folders, or anywhere for easy access no matter where you are in your phone.
- Continue on PC. Put your phone down and start where you left off on your PC. Edit your document in Word 365 at home; continue working on the desktop. Take a photo with your phone and instantly edit it on your PC. You get the idea.
- Search everywhere at once: Search for your apps, photos, documents, messages and results on the Internet – anywhere – with the Microsoft Launcher’s universal search bar.
- Personalize your feed: Set the feed as your default home screen and populate it as you see fit with calendar events, documents, contacts, and assigned news topics.
- Gesture Your Way: You tell Android how to react to your gestures; double tap to open Outlook; swipe up to launch Skype, and so on.
Few apps perform as well in a Microsoft-dominated environment than Microsoft Launcher.
Nova Launcher
User Rating: 4.6 Installs: 1,157,614 Price: Free / $ 4.99 for Prime
One of the oldest and most popular launchers out there today, Nova Launcher offers so many features and customization options that it’s hard to know where to start. If you want to get things right, Nova is a good place to start. Here are some examples of the free version’s features:
- Icon themes: Find thousands of icon themes for Nova Launcher in the Play Store.
- Subgrid Positioning: Anchors icons or widgets to the middle of the desktop grid cell, allowing more limited control over your screen layouts.
- Color controls: use colors to define labels, folders, unread notifications, drawer tabs, background, and more
- Custom app drawer: create custom tabs, vertical or horizontal scrolling, customizable transitions and other effects.
- Backup & Restore: A sophisticated backup / restore system allows you to back up your desktop layout and launch settings
- Scrollable Dock: Create multiple docks and scroll between them.
- Dock widgets: Place any widget in the dock, such as a 2 × 10 search widget
The addition of the Nova Launcher Prime update adds gestures, custom drawer groups, hide apps, swipe icons, and other scrolling effects. Nova Launcher lets you do things your own way, but be prepared to spend a little time on it, unless you’re using Nova’s import feature to transfer your layout from another popular launcher.
One Launcher
User Rating: 4.3 Installs: 27 420 Price: Free
According to the publisher, One Launcher is:
An easy-to-use Android launcher. We believe that it is simply wonderful. Our launcher does not consume your precious memory resources and we do not use CPU cycles. We just give you a highly optimized Android home screen replacement better than the standard one with a clean and polished interface.
One Launcher is similar in function and behavior to the launcher on the Google Pixel and supports Google Now. One Launcher is really lightweight and relatively elegant.
Home screen replacement can be customized with many theme options as well as smart widgets and special effects. If you’re not happy with the default phone configuration, One Launcher is a quick and clean replacement.
Smart Launcher 5
User Rating: 4.4 Installs: 519 518 Price: Free / $ 4.49 Professional
Smart Launcher is another of those themes that have been around for a long time and this latest update, v5, is loaded with new performance and usability features. So let’s take a look at what Smart Launcher 5 can do for you, starting with Ambient Themes, which automatically changes your theme colors to match your wallpaper.
Next, Adaptive Icons uses the icon format introduced in Android 8.0 (Oreo), which allows you to customize the shapes and sizes of icons, making the home screen and app drawers more attractive.
Automatic App Sorting sorts your apps into categories, and when you upgrade to Pro, you can add your own categories, and the apps you use most often automatically move to the bottom of the screen for easier access when using your device with one. arm.
The Smart Launcher search bar searches and searches everywhere, quickly finding contacts, apps, actions like adding contacts, performing calculations, and more. You get customizable gestures and hotkeys. Hundreds of themed icon packs are available and you can hide apps and protect them from launching with pins (think banking, not necessarily porn). P>
The Pro version is less resource intensive, adds home screen notifications, integrates lock screen notifications, improves security, and more. Smart Launcher 5 lives up to its name; that’s really smart.
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Brought to you by Asus Computers staff, ZenUI Launcher was only available on Asus devices at one time, but it has been available for all Android devices for a while now and has become quite popular.
Features include, of course, changing wallpapers and widgets, applying transitions and special effects, swiping up to display all customization options, and organizing apps and folders in layer modes so that all apps are accessible from the home screen or from a single icon.
The list goes on and on; you can, for example, apply effects such as Blur to your wallpaper, resize icons, align and scroll effects, and fonts and colors. Real-time preview lets you see apps and widgets before installing them, and Contextual App Discovery helps you find apps by function. You can lock apps, hide them and protect them with a PIN.
Looking at this list of launchers, I saw many beautiful home screens, app drawers and docks, but few were as simple and sleek as ZenUI, a launcher that conveys the truth to a euphemism that is usually the best. This may seem a little too simple to some users, but ZenUI definitely has its own feng shui.
Hope you enjoyed this list of the best Android launchers! I’m sure some readers will think of the other launcher as a better choice, which makes sense if it suits your workflow better. These are just the most popular ones, so be sure to check out the others if none of them suit your needs. Enjoy!
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